Swaminarayan Sunday School

'Striving Towards Better Child Development'

It is amazing when a young boy encourages his parents to quit addictions and a young girl confidently orates on God's creation, convincing people that each creation has its own light! Many such unbelievable wonders are turning into realities at the Children's Forum of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

The Swaminarayan Sunday School of London brings an element of the East to the children of today's age. Moral and spiritual care are the two wings of the Swaminarayan Sunday School. Faith in God is strengthened through exciting stories, dramas, slide shows and presentations. Every child is nurtured so that he or she grows up into 'a shining citizen of tomorrow'.

The Swaminarayan Sunday School is a joyful reminder of the ancient Vedic system, where learned rishis consolidated sound moral values such as obedience like Satyakam Jabali, dedication like Shravan, aim like Nachiketa, devotion like Prahlad and faith like Eklavya.

The School is run and funded on a voluntary basis wherein 25 male teachers and 35 female teachers all offer their invaluable time and services in ensuring that the children who attend this School receive education of the highest possible quality.

Most parents agree that their children receive more than just proficiency in our mother tongue at the Swaminarayan Sunday School, which is not just about paper-based education. It supplements the national education imparted in various schools across the country. It is about all-round development of the youngsters: spiritual, cultural, education, moral and social.

Parents can assess the progress of their children by meeting teachers and discussing the child's progress report during Parents' Day. As one parent aptly observed: "What my children have learnt and developed here in one year would not be possible at any other Sunday school. And that too with no fees! We would like to thank the teachers and all the volunteers for their tremendous service."

Another parent commented: "My children have learnt the true meaning of life and in the several years of attending this school have made a big change in our family life too."

The Swaminarayan Sunday School was established in 1981 with initially 73 children attending. Currently, 450 children aged between 6 and 14 attend regularly with another 80 to 100 enrolled every year. These figures make the school one of the largest in the country. Another 500 children attend their own local centres spread around the UK. In total, there are 84 Bal-Balika Mandals (children forums) in the UK of which 57 have provision for teaching Gujarati.

There are 45 Gujarati teachers offering voluntary service in the Swaminarayan Sunday School itself who are regularly trained to teach at higher standards, aiming for the best results possible.

Truly, the efforts put in by the teachers are commendable and their skills are continually refined through regular seminars for the Gujarati teachers and Bal Karyakars.

• A balak from the Swaminarayan Sunday School was chosen out of all the Gujarati speaking boys under the age of ten in the UK to speak in Gujarati for 'Voice of Home Planet' – one of the shows at the Millennium Dome.
  
• GCSE Gujarati results have been 90-100% pass grades A-C.
  
• A balak from South London attained 3rd position out of 700 students in the UK in the world-renowned Sahitya Academy (Gujarati) Exam. This record is now expected to improve with the fully functioning Gujarati syllabus catering for starters to GCSE level.

The blessings of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the dedication of the volunteers and the constant guidance from the sadhus makes the School unique.

Activities

Cultural Activities: Awards from the Brent Festival for Folk Dance (First Prize – 1993),
Sampoorna Sangeet Mela (Second Prize – 1994)
Croydon Music Festival (First Prize – 2000)
A remark by Croydon Music Festival adjudicator: "Great clarity of words, a round of sargams delivered and many voices singing in unison truly show that the performance was impeccable. Wonderful, consistent tempo! A great, lively performance! Well done."

Celebration of Hindu festivals : Kite Festival, Ramnavmi, Diwali as well as community festivals such as the Brent Respect Festival in which balaks and balikas contributed to create a new Guinness World Record for finger painting.

The Shoe Racks during the Hindu New Year celebrations are entirely run by balaks and sanchalaks. Over 50,000 pairs of footwear are handled and not a single pair has gone amiss.

Exams: Bal-Balika Mandal (2 every year), Gujarati (3 every year) and Satsang (1 each year).
These exams enable the children to consolidate their knowledge and understanding of things taught in the school.

Physical Activities
Pramukh Cup – National 5-a-side Football Tournament for boys (over 350 competitors)
Premvati Cup – National 7-a-side Netball Tournament for girls (over 150 competitors)
Sports Days, Summer Camps, Sponsored Walks and Outings
Participation in singing and dancing competitions such as the annual dances performed in the Gujarati Literacy Academy.

Needless to say, despite the School being run and funded on a totally voluntary basis, the enjoyment of the children, self-satisfaction for the teachers, and the appreciation of parents and the blessings of Swamishri all put together result in one promising statement: "A voluntary school with a professional standard."